British royals take in Commonwealth Games

Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, watched gymnastics and boxing Monday at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow with Williams' younger brother Harry, while Prince Edward brought his family at the table tennis competition.

Prince William, Duchess of Cambridge on hand in Glasgow

The Associated Press · July 28, 2014

Prince William, right, and the Duchess of Cambridge watch gymnastics competition at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. (Alastair Grant/Associated Press)

Prince William and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, watched gymnastics and boxing with Williams' younger brother Harry. And Prince Edward, William and Harry's uncle and son of Queen Elizabeth II, brought his family at the table tennis competition.

"It's a game that you need to sit close to in order to appreciate the speed and the skill," Prince Edward said as he watched Nigeria beat India 3-1 in a team bronze medal match.

He said he doesn't own a table at home, but that could change.

"That was one of reasons why I got my children here, as an opportunity to introduce them to a couple of sports that they might not otherwise have known. So perhaps in the future," Prince Edward said.

Queen Elizabeth officially opened the games last week and visited some events and athletes the following day.

Here are some other highlights Monday:

David takes gold

World squash champion Nicol David of Malaysia, the gold medallist from New Delhi in 2010, successfully defended her women's singles title with a 12-10, 11-2, 11-5 win over Laura Massaro of England in just 44 minutes. There was a brief stoppage in play in the third game when Massaro was hit in the face by David's racket during a rally. Nick Matthew won the men's singles gold when he beat fellow Englishman James Willstrop 11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-5.

India rules

India won its fourth shooting gold medal of the Commonwealth Games when Jitu Rai took the 50-metre pistol event. Rai, ranked fourth in the world, broke the games record in the event. He finished ahead of countryman Gurpal Singh, with Daniel Repacholi of Australia earning the bronze. "The more calm I was, the better it would be for me, and in the end there was no tension or pressure at all," Rai said.

16-year gap

New Zealand shooter Sally Johnston won the women's 50-metre rifle prone final, claiming her second Commonwealth Games medal after winning bronze in the same discipline in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1998. The podium had three previous medallists in the event: silver winner Esmari van Reenen of South Africa and bronze medallist Jen McIntosh of Scotland claimed silver at Manchester 2002 and gold at Delhi 2010 respectively, both in the 50-meter rifle prone. The record number of years between Commonwealth Games medals is 20, set by Percy Watson of Northern Ireland, who won gold in the lawn bowls men's pairs in 1954 after claiming silver in the men's fours in 1934.

Bad bullets?

English grandfather Michael Gault missed out on a chance to win the most number of Commonwealth Games medals in history when he failed to qualify for the final of the 50-metre air pistol on Monday. The 60-year-old Gault, who is competing at his sixth games, had drawn level with fellow shooter Phillip Adams of Australia on the all-time list when he won his 18th medal on Saturday, taking bronze in the 10-meter discipline. "I wanted to give it a little bash and try to get the all-time record," he said Monday after finishing 13th. "But unfortunately the bullets I used wouldn't go into the middle of the target." Gault will retire from competitive shooting after these games.

Looking ahead

On Tuesday, the swimming events conclude with the 1,500 metres and medley relays; on the track, the men's 110-metre hurdles and decathlon and women's 400- and 1,500-metre finals are held; and mountain biking makes its only appearance with golds to be contested in men's and women's cross-country races. The opening day of wrestling will feature 45-year-old Scottish twins Donna and Fiona Robertson, who are former games bronze medallists in judo — Donna won at Auckland, New Zealand in 1990; Fiona at Manchester.

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